EXCLUSIVE: Len Brown’s Town Hall to Downfall

Len Brown’s hold on the Auckland mayoralty is in serious jeopardy following bombshell allegations of a two-year extra-marital affair with a council employee 25 years his junior.

Brown – who last weekend was returned for a second term with a 50,000-vote majority – is expected to face enormous pressure this week to resign over what rates as possibly the biggest sex scandal in New Zealand local body history.

Among the allegations – which are backed up by text messages – are that “barely two-minute Brown” had unprotected sex with the 32-year-old on more than a dozen occasions during office hours.

This, says the woman, included numerous times in Brown’s council office and once in the “Ngati Whatua Room” at the Auckland Town Hall – an area of special significance to Maori – where they were caught in the act by a security guard.

At the time, the woman says, she was completely naked and Brown had his pants down around his ankles.

Brown did not return phone calls or messages this afternoon despite multiple attempts to contact him.

According to a sworn affidavit provided by the woman, Brown – who she rated a ‘generous’ 4 out of 10 in the lovemaking stakes – would also routinely masturbate at his desk while chatting to her on the phone.

“He’d tell me what he was doing. You could hear the heavy breathing over the phone and then that noise which comes once it is all over,” she said, adding that Brown was “highly sexed” and possibly in need of some help.

“He’d also tell me he would masturbate at home in the morning before coming to work and I’d be the one he’d be thinking of – not his wife who must have been just metres away, but me.”

The woman has decided to speak out about the two years she spent as the mayor’s mistress after claims Brown treated her no better than “a porn star” – a reference to how, according to her, it was common practice for him to ejaculate on her during sex.

“At least if I was a hooker I would have got something out of this, but I got nothing. I was starting to feel like Monica Lewinsky,” she said.

The affair is not only likely to cost the father-of-three his career and reputation but also his 20 year-plus marriage to lawyer wife Shan Inglis. The couple have three daughters together.

That doesn’t please the “other woman”, but she says, like everyone, Brown has to be held accountable for his actions – and if that means the end of his marriage then so be it.

Right now she’s more concerned about her own safety.

And she may well have reason to be.

Last week the 32-year-old received an anonymous text message warning her there would be repercussions if she went public with her story.

“It certainly made me uncomfortable. I wonder what might be coming next,” she says.

The woman first met Brown back in May 2011 at a council function and says she initially found him “pleasant and courteous”.

Just hours after that meeting, the woman says she received a text message from Brown remarking on how much he had enjoyed meeting her earlier that day.

“I was shocked. He barely knew me, but here he was going to the trouble of texting me. What also puzzled me was how he got my number,” she said.

According to the woman’s affidavit, five days later she saw Brown again at another council function and it was on this occasion that the man once renowned for his face slapping antics lets his fingers do the talking.

“We exchange pleasantries and have a brief chat about work matters and then he touches my hand and my arm. I suppose I thought little of it at the time, but it was a pointer to what was to come.”

She says several weeks later she received a text message from Brown asking if she could possibly meet him at the council offices to discuss “work issues”. While surprised at the request, she gave no thought to the idea that perhaps Brown had a romantic interest in her.

Once inside Brown’s office, she says it wasn’t long before the talk turned to that of a personal nature. “He complimented me on my appearance and touched my hand several times. That’s as far as it went – this time, anyway.”

Over the weeks that followed, the woman says Brown continued laying the groundwork. She says he would text her at least once or twice a day and call sometimes up to five times a week.

“I wasn’t attracted to him, but I was flattered by the attention. He was an important person and was choosing to confide in me. I could see he was under pressure.”

It wasn’t long before the phone calls became no work and all play, says the 32-year-old.

“He would tell me how much he missed me and how he wanted to see me again.”

And eventually at Brown’s insistence, the woman says, they did meet again – and it was during one of these meetings in Brown’s office where they shared the first of what was to be many intimate moments together.

“We were in his office and then he pulled his chair up alongside mine, grabbed me and then began kissing me, passionately kissing me. I was shocked but I didn’t push him away.

“Eventually I did and he apologised. He was telling me I was very pretty and he couldn’t help himself. I knew at the time he was married and way older than I was, but all I could think about was what had happened and what I was going to do next.”

Brown wasn’t easing up either, according to the woman.

She said he would often ring her at lunchtime and tell her how he’d woken up that morning thinking about her. There were other times, she said, he would tell her how he’d been thinking of her while masturbating in the bathroom before heading into work.

And this was just usually metres away from where his wife was sleeping.

“I didn’t know what to say. I’d just say ‘really’.”

More was to follow, according to the woman.

She says during one telephone call Brown revealed how he was so turned on by the sound of her voice he had removed his trousers and had started masturbating at his desk.

“I didn’t know what to think. I could hear a lot of panting and heavy breathing and then came that sound when it’s all over. There were other times he’d do this when he was in the bathroom in his office,” she said.

In August of 2011 the woman celebrated her 30th birthday. To mark the occasion she says Brown bought her some black lingerie, which she had to return to the store because they didn’t fit properly.

“He was a bit of a cheapskate. They were from Bras and Things and not worth very much.”

Not long after her birthday, the woman says she and Brown had sex for the first time.

It was over in a matter of minutes, she says.

“We were in his office and he pulled me on to the couch. The sex was all about him.

“It was over pretty quickly and he started apologizing, saying that he usually lasted a lot longer. That’s what all guys say.”

“He wasn’t wearing a condom. He pulled out in time and ejaculated on me. Initially I didn’t want to go there with him but he was pretty persistent.”

The woman says after that her conscience kicked in and she told Brown “what we are doing is wrong”.

She recalled meeting Brown at Esquires coffee house in Lorne Street where she tried to call things off. “He got very emotional and started crying,” she says.

The affair continued.

She says although she didn’t find the 57-year-old particularly appealing she found his power “intoxicating”. He would take her to events where she would meet high-powered movers and shakers who normally wouldn’t give someone like her the time of day.

“He would compliment me in front of these people which made me feel great,” she said.

But she says despite her efforts to call time on the relationship, the sex continued.

Her worry was that eventually they would get caught.

Which, she says, is exactly what happened in early 2012.

Len Brown: Wore the maori cloak of respect but used the Ngati Whatua Meeting room for liaisons with his mistress

She says she and Brown were having sex in the Ngati Whatua Room at the Auckland Town Hall when a security guard burst in through the door.

“It was horrific. I had no clothes on and Len had his pants down around his ankles. The security guy was clearly embarrassed and made some apologetic noises before closing the door and leaving.

“Len was distressed, saying ‘This is it, this is it… how are we going to get out of this.”

But ‘get out’ they did, she says.

“We laid low waiting for him to come out with all the detail but he never did. We were very surprised.”

The woman says in 2012 she met Brown at the Langham, the Hilton and Sky City hotels in Auckland where they would have sex. Brown, she says, would leave a room key for her to collect from the Town Hall reception area and then wait for her arrival.

It was around this time, she says, she started really questioning her relationship with Brown. “I was being treated like a prostitute, except for one thing – I wasn’t getting paid,” she says.

“I could really see no point in maintaining contact with Len.”

In October last year the woman started seeing someone else and says when she broke the news to Brown he appeared to be supportive.

It was a far cry from how he had acted a few months earlier, she says.

Brown, she says, had invited her and a group of friends to a dance recital at the Maidment Theatre but the evening quickly turned ugly after one of her friends started caressing her leg.

“He got very jealous. He wasn’t happy at all. When I saw him a few days later he told me he had googled my friend’s name and now knew all about him. I remember saying to him ‘haven’t you got better things to do that google my friends?”

She says despite making it clear to Brown that she had a boyfriend he continued with his advances. This even included sending the woman a Christmas card, which she says he signed off with the words ‘I Love You’.

When the woman’s relationship ended in February, Brown, she says, was quickly back on the scene.

But, she says, they only had sex on one more occasion. That was in July, the woman says, where again Brown climaxed on her.

“He then asked if next time I could bring condoms,” she said.

But there would be no next time.

The woman says for some reason Brown cut all contact from that point onwards, refusing to reply to the more than two dozen text messages she sent him.

She says even to this day she is unsure why but suspects he was concerned about the possibility of being exposed so close to the local body elections.

The woman says Brown took a lot from her, but didn’t offer a great deal in return. In the end he treated her like a booty call. “It was always wham bam thank you Maam,” she says, adding that on current form Brown didn’t deserve to be Mayor of Auckland.

“If this is the way he behaves then he is not fit to be mayor.”

Brown entered politics back in 1992 when he was elected to the Manukau City Council, a position he held up until 2004. In 2007 he was elected mayor of Manukau and three years later became the first mayor of Auckland following the amalgamation of the regions seven former city and district councils.

I’m calling Bevan Chaung as the young lady in question – I can’t verify age, but feels like ethnicity and relationship to council and Mayor are approriate. She wrote a piece at China Southern. Thoughts

David

Good guess – age fits the bill, certainly would have come across him in her day to day, type of career where she’d sacrifice morals in order to get ahead. Considering she’s also a public office candidate, open season?

John

I could be totally wrong – She was on the C+R ticket (opposing Brown) – but also on the Council Ethnic panel etc as well. Their are photos of them together (this almost means nothing, he loved having his photo taken.) That the “B” thing in texts, “Geisha” call from Len as well as connection to China Southern etc plus mix of polictical aspirations and semi-council work… Who knows, feeling for his wife and kids.

Mal Ponzi

she was always harping on about morals and values and white racism, She wanted a sperm doner so she could have a baby in the year of the dragon? Well Ms inclusiveness has been exposed and mr man of the lord brown is a hypocrite!

MarcWills

And came across her in the night and office too!

GregM

She’s fuckin hot, what did she see in that old fool ?

slade52

political advancement

4077th

“Getting -A- Head”

4077th

Ahhh yellow fever Greg….My avatar might suggest I have a similar affliction.

GregM

Mate, I was shacked up with the most wonderful girl from Hong Kong for 14 years. Once you’ve been there, there isn’t anywhere else worth going. :-)

ab

dude ! she looks like a ladyboy !

EllenO

An old tool!

Bunswalla

The perhaps obvious question with regard to timing – why break this now? Why not three weeks ago?

David

Because she didn’t get elected and maybe there is a little blame on him?

GusTheSus

The bitter tone would seem to support a bit of blame or revenge being motivators.

Kangaroo

“a bit” only a bit? Pretty sure that is the main motive. Sour grapes that he couldn’t get her elected.

AnonWgtn

Because the MSM nobody would touch it.

Richard

She wasn’t threatened then?

Deb Duis

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.. and by waiting she could inflict maximum damage.

John

Confirmed – Bevan Chuang.

maclir

Get a chubby?

maninblack

loads of face slapping going to happen today.

maninblack

loads of face slapping going to happen today.

SJ00

Oh dear… brown going down…

callumb

On what?

SJ00

Maybe he should have gone down instead of the 2 minute wonder, pants round the ankles trick :)

AnonWgtn

Nah – get over it – move on

4077th

It’s delicious!

Agent BallSack

Biggest political story to hit the country and we see it here first! Amazing work Cam.

Patrick

Yep, in the past the leftie media would have buried it, sunlight the best disinfectant.

AnonWgtn

They tried to bury it I understand which is why the freelance reporter turned to Whale.

At least someone was getting their berm mowed or ploughed as the case may be.

Three Monkeys

So what is coming next? Must be something if she has sworn this information in an affidavit …

ozbob68

I’m waiting to see how long until stuff prints it. Fantastic scoop cam

lofty

They will hold off as long as possible for sure.
edit: never mind its here and we all know that some very influential media types peruse this site.

I do feel for the wife and children, this will be crushing to them, and Len needs a swift kick in the slats for putting them through it.

If this had not been broken here, it would have been elsewhere, and the damage to his family would still have occurred.

Sexual dalliances are not the exclusive preserve of left or right either, the practice is rife, the key is leaving a cold trail, which generally costs money, something that the complainant would have been happy with reading between the lines of the article.

Teletubby

They will be to scared to run it without that affidavit, and they definitely want want to say ” Whale Oil is reporting …..”

lofty

agreed

edit: All of this is of course resting on the truth of the allegation.

If it is not true then it probably shapes up as the biggest smear job of NZ politics.

http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/ Pete

Len Brown has put out a statement admitting to the affair. The detail of it remains unconfirmed because he is now hiding behind his family.

AnonWgtn

MSM knew about for some time before the election, but were afraid to bring it to light.
AS the freelance guy could not get traction with MSM he sought Whale.

Whafe

Still nothing on the NZ Horrid or that Stuff site

SJ00

Radio Live are running it through legal to see if they can report it at 3pm.

EDIT: looks like they are chickening out, its going to be Duncan’s story now.

I think we should have a whip round and buy Cam a new server. His fans must sounds like a plane taking off right now

Mr Sackunkrak

See what happens when you buy the mistress cheap knickers a few sizes too big.

lofty

yup, tacky underwear wont cut it and buy silence Sackunkrak will it.
Jewelry, cars, apartment, 1st class holidays for the rest of his life MAY have kept the lid on this, or maybe not.

Alfred12

Dinner with the wife tonight? Mmm, maybe not!!

Sir Cullen’s Sidekick

Whale Oil – I salute you…and take my hat off in appreciation. You are a KING!!!!

http://mediasportandotherrantings.blogspot.com/ gopolks

What Len Brown should say

Beagle

Holy fucking shit.

lofty

Is that you Len? ;-)

jb

Pity for Jafaland that this sh*t didn’t hit the fan before recent elections?

Never in the dark…..

I had to re-read that…..just to make sure I read elections properly.

Mr_Blobby

You silly woman, I was erecting some hoardings.

R1249

Lens new name 4 out of 10 Len

http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/ Travis Poulson

LBIA4/10

GregM

STOP THE PRESS.
I was about to get some LBIAFC t shirts printed, May have to edit the text.

Adolf Fiinkensein

The Cook wondered whether the young lady in question greeted the Mayor each morning with “Good morning Mr Mayor, do you have two minutes………?”

YoungA

Breaking on the Horrid – if it’s reached there, expect a very interesting news night tonight..

Abjv

Has it affected the way he does his job? A shitty way to treat his family, but has it affected Auckland? Probably not the affair itself, but any attempt to silence it up might. That’s what got Nixon, not the event itself but the cover-up.

In my household he will now be referred to as “Mr Two-stroke”.

Another thought. Do we really want Penny Hulse as mayor? Scrap the rail loop, build the holiday highway?

drummerboy

I can not wait to hear len browns explanation for this one. also anyone tried to ring that unknown number?

AnonWgtn

He has had a meeting at 4.30pm with Deputy Hulse and CEO and says move on – he is not going to resign or anything.
He wishes to erect above this, although being a sad root apparently.

metalnwood

He is never going to be able to go to a meeting without someone making a quick hand thumping noise under the table.

The dude is going to forever more have both hands on the table at all times.

Andy C

heh, classic

dyannt

Image if you were recalling that you’ve had a meeting with Len in his office in the last two years. You’d be trying to recall whether you shook his hand or not.

metalnwood

Here I thought his first preference was to be a mayor. Seems he really wanted to be a stallion.

Mr_Blobby

Failing at both.

Harry B’Stard

The search is on for the stained dress

4077th

The shroud of chur in bro.

mike

Why are you surprised… I mean he’s been fucking the rate payers of Auckland for the last decade :-)

chris

If this is genuine and it appears it is then Len is a gone burger. What’s Lens defense ? ‘I never had sex with that women’ ! Yea right. Never trust a socialist. That sick little lefty will be packing his bags as we speak. Poor old Len will miss the train now.

Andy C

I appreciate how much most commentators here despise Len, so its no surprise you are all going to town at the thought of his misery. But rooting around hardly disqualifies him from being mayor material, surely? I’m not saying he wont go, i’m just saying I don’t think it supplies the strong grounds to go that people seem to be claiming (the embarrassment side however, that’s gotta be hurting big time…).

7nationarmy

The answer to this is would be would the people that voted for him have voted the same if this came out 1 week ago.

Andy C

I guess i’m saying it wouldn’t have mattered much to me, I couldn’t care less who bonks who. Not that I voted for Len

John1234

If a council employee was caught bonking an underling employee, be it on work time or on work premises, that would be instant dismissal. Is the mayor not expected to meet the same standards as the employees?

Andy C

Strawman, you cannot hold him to a standard you simply fabricated.

John1234

Seriously? You think if a manager was caught bonking an underling on council property, that this would be accepted? For a start there is a major position of power and sexual harassment problem.

Rachel

It’s not an imbalance of power if it’s consensual. She admitted she did it to promote her own career. Her motives are in question – his are obvious.

James Growley

Len is such a brazen bastard, he will tough this out and probably get another three years as well…….

drummerboy

i think the personal life of politicians is very important to making informed decisions on who to vote for. If you cannot stay faithfully to your wife then in my opinion you lack the integrity to hold public office.

Andy C

Jesus drummer, you’ve got to be kidding right? Do you have any idea how empty our public offices would be if what you said actually happened?

BR

Perhaps that is part of the reason why the moral fabric of the country is not quite the same as it was fifty years ago.

Bill.

Muffin

Perhaps his explains the 35% voter turn out. Who wants to pick the best looser in a bunch of losers….. Let alone the unfaithful looser

Never in the dark…..

And what of the people who’s rooms he has desecrated? I’m sure a large portion of the vote came from that quarter.

chris

Sorry, but it more then ‘rooting around’, he had an affair with a younger women while he was married with kids, his wife was also getting cancer treatment at the same time, he had sex on council time in council buildings and in room that was sacred to Maori. He was in a position or power and trust and took advantage of a younger employee. These ‘behaviors’ are stackable in any ones language.

http://manymonkeys.co.nz/ Hamilton Lad

But doesn’t it go to personal integrity and character?

Toasty

Lens obviously a bit of a tool but her story doesn’t sound much better. A bit of sour grapes perhaps?

lofty

Sure seems that way to me too.

Agent BallSack

Sour grapes makes the best socialist wine.

Aquarius 61

Wine or whine?

slade52

That would be true, but she’s not the Mayor. Higher standard and all that…

botti

Hell hath no fury like a women scorned!

Agent BallSack

Council chief executive Doug McKay went to the mayoral office at the Auckland Town Hall about 3pm to meet senior staff in Mr Brown’s office and deputy mayor Penny Hulse.

Talks took place in Mr Brown’s personal office.

After the talks he told the NZ Herald he had spoken with the mayor’s staff about the situation.

“My job is to go back and run the organization.

“He needs some space to deal with it. He has got some family and personal issues to work through and I think we should give him a bit of time to do that,” said Mr McKay,

He said he had not spoken to Mr Brown about the matter.

Mr McKay said the mayor was not at the mayoral office. His mayoral car was not parked at its spot outside the town hall.

4077th

No his car is parked outside the Pelican club in Newton road!

http://GodHelpMe.Im.Gonna.Gutyas.org.nz/ OrphanIsland

Sounds like a sexual harassment case on top of it all …

rockape

Guess Cam thats one Christmas card you wont be getting this year.

drummerboy

wham bam thank you Maam

CheesyEarWax

This is like reading a Penthouse Forum letter, both are true I presume.

Peter Walker

God she sounds bitter doesn’t she? She didn’t get anything out of it? Would she prefer to have been paid? She tried to break it off, but when he finally stopped calling her she sent him “dozens of texts”? Sounds like she’s the one spurned and is now making it sound like she’s the victim in it all. Did she have to pick up the keys and go up to the room? She was clearly interested in advancing her career, so it’s a bit rich for her to be calling foul now. Sure, it’s all very sordid and two-minute brown will probably be done like a cheap hooker (pardon the pun), but she doesn’t sound much like a victim in all of this.

Mr_Blobby

Takes two to Tango or in this case one and a half.

Peter Walker

Apparently it takes two minutes to tango when you’re Len Brown

http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/ Travis Poulson

LBIAFC LBIA4/10

Never in the dark…..

LBIAFwanker

http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/ Travis Poulson

At least he’s willing to Len(d) a hand.

Rat

shit if only I knew about this before the election I would have voted….and voted for Len Brown…what a fucking legend !!!!

If I were Len’s manager I would advise Len to say, “I had an affair, so fucking what ?, okay jizzed on her tits, I mean who fucking hasn’t ?, right, those rates increases…”

Shoreboy57

No wonder he loves trains and tunnels………..

chris

This is more then ‘rooting around’, he had an affair with a younger women while he was married with kids, his wife was also getting cancer treatment at the same time, he had sex on council time in council buildings and in room that was sacred to Maori. He was in a position or power and trust and took advantage of a younger employee. Apparently gifts were involved. [Hush money? ].These ‘behaviors’ are stackable in any ones language.

Teko Flaps

He was whamming poon in the ngata whatua room when he was supposed to be discussing berms ! Get ya priorities right Brown you mongrel !

metalnwood

She could have been the one that gave him the idea that the garden doesnt need trimming everywhere.

Teko Flaps

HAHAHAHA-She might have been running an 80’s jungle poon and the over grown lawns all over the place reminded him of her one slice toaster ?

Patrick

Good on ya mate, you summed it up, while “Rome” burns Emperor Brown pole vaults around the Ngata Whatua room with an underling.
Very Clintonesque, all we need now are details of a cigar & a soiled dress.

4077th

Whamming poon..best line ever!

David

Being that it takes two to tango and that this was a consensual act where the women decided to trade morals and apparently her own dignity in order to pursue a sexual relationship with someone because it meant she could meet people beyond her station, I’d think your site, being against naming suppression on immoral acts would also name her.

A little too much double standard from my view, happy to snipe in the shadows and ruin someone after an immoral (but not illegal) sexual relationship but not happy to publish who the person was and ensure that anyone who may come across her or look to employee her knows about her own moral discretion – or lack thereof.

John1234

It is not a moral issue to me, but it should be an employment issue. Bonking a junior staff member is unacceptable. Bonking on council property (and furniture!) is unacceptable. If staff did this I believe they would be dismissed.

David

Well yes, moral issues are usually covered under the code of conduct of an employee… the point more so is that this person openly states that they pursued a sexual relationship with someone in power in order to advance their own position in life. Being that this person obviously works public service, naming them is only fair – considering that’s always been WhaleOils M.O in these situations

DLNZ

What is even more unacceptable is using his position of power to threaten her career.

David

I think you’ll find the opposite. Have a read through the comments in here, you’ll find out who she is and what sort of character she has… this is pure revenge on the basis that he got elected, she didn’t.

sandynobb

Is ‘B’ for Bright, Penny Bright?

Mark

Not even Lewd Len would stoop that low…

Teko Flaps

He jacked off at/on his desk.

4077th

Bukkaki Len

http://manymonkeys.co.nz/ Hamilton Lad

You make quite a good point with that observation.

Hazards001

Yeah. As with many she was happy to fuck her way to the top and gain connections. Fuck all sympathy here I’m afraid.

Her little cry seems a bit to contrived to me.

More like didn’t get in and now can’t get a promise of a cushy troughing numbers so spilling the beans.
She’s also the nut job that wanted to find a sperm donor so she could have a Dragon baby.
Cry me a river.

“Bevan Chuang was born in Hong Kong, completed her secondary education in Auckland and attended Auckland University. Her career to-date has been one of significant community involvement with a focus on the celebration and integration of Chinese and other migrant communities within Auckland. She is currently the chair of the Asian Women and Family Trust and member of the Ethnic Peoples Advisory Panel. She also provides advice and consultancy services to small businesses.”

Brown has just released a statement admitting to a 2 year affair but he had told his wife about it, Yeah right. He says it is a personal matter and nothing to do with the public, Yeah right and could the press leave him alone to deal with it, Yeah right. If the press leave him alone they all want sacking as well. He didn’t mind getting into the public eye every 5 secs before the shit hit the fan now he wants privacy, bollocks. Man up to Auckland Ratepayers and do the honorable thing if you have any morals left.

conwaycaptain

There is a Commodore RNZN being court martialled for the very same offence at the moment.
If he is found guilty he will get the chop.

GregM

I hope he does. I had the misfortune to have to work with him in my previous career.

This_comment_was_deleted

This is truly an article worthy of that unlamented sleazy tattler, The Truth.

Welcome to the sordid NZ future of negative attack politics under Cameron Slatter and Simon Lusk.

This whole thing is totally wrong. Sure Len acted poorly, however, that women is worse in my book. She played her part in this saga and her motives for releasing this information must be questioned. She is after money, fame and possibly revenge.

David

Well at least due to the wonderful wacky world of the interweb, anyone who searches this will now find her name attached to it.

Tony

Yes. Her name will be mud. Sure she may get money from a magazine but who would employ her?

Sidey

At least he had the good grace not to buy condoms using ratepayer’s money.

I wonder if Len will seek out advice from Iain Lees-Galloway on how to sweep sex scandals under the carpet?

YoungA

So now Bevan has been confirmed, doesn’t this make him a hypocrite? After all, I thought rising house prices and overseas investors were a problem he wanted to “address”. Instead, he was banging them! Ha. Classic pinko. Wants to eat his cake and have it too.

James M

Or open legs

longjohn

Dirty old fecker!

AnonWgtn

Sounds like a good Catholic boy – will deny it as much as possible – told the wife – yea after he had been caught out.
Jesus wept.

Henry

I voted for this guy too just Saturday gone. Blimey, nothing like a good laugh to finish off a day at work.

Steve (North Shore)

I know of Bevan Chuang as a newsreader on Asia Focus on the now closed TV9.
A very pretty Asian woman – what the hell does she see in a scumbag like Len Brown?
Did the lying shit promise to make her Mayoress? I think the media needs to ask Ms Chuang more questions – something is not right

Rachel

She’s in hiding – and this blog author would probably like her to stay that way for a while.

metalnwood

“He pulled out in time and ejaculated on me.”

Wish my take out chinese was as exciting.

CheesyEarWax

Have you ordered cream of some young guy?

maclir

Who gives a fuck? We could do with being more like the French.

GusTheSus

Showering less? I’m not sure Bevan would have gone for him then.

4077th

Cheese eating surrender monkeys? Yeah I want to be just like that!

maclir

Do fuck off and bore someone else.

Muffin

You fuck off and bore someone else.

Rachel

If I could press the ^ more than once – you’d go right to the top of the class!

Super_Guest

Just watched One News Whale. They were very careful to leave your name out of it.

pukakidon

This guy is a Liar, Cheat and a bully. If he is let to stay then Auckland are fools.

Typical Lefty dishonest and a bully. Next step leadership of the Liarbour party?

Stan

At least he had the courtesy not to jizz in her

blairmulholland

I notice nobody has asked the big question yet…

Why did this come out AFTER the election and not before?!!

Bryan

read whaleoil other post why they broke the story now

Rachel

It’s rubbish – he did it because he’s trying to force Len Brown’s resignation. Brown wasn’t really expected to win. This was Plan B.

metalnwood

I know what he is going to name the new trainset.

It’s got to be the Orient express. Subsidised by the tax payer and multipass included.

Dennis

and in the Ngati Whatua room, what a disrespectful bastard he is.

Melissa!

I certainly don’t want him as my mayor, nor his ‘pit’ crew who will deny
all knowledge of the affair I’m sure. Despite the fact their leader had a deep interest in someone not very relevant to their agenda, the pairs numerous
appearances together at industry events, her picking hotel key cards up
from reception, her plentiful visits to the office etc. What else are these people hiding……? Yes, well speaking of budgets I
wonder how many of his expense claims will back up her claims? Feeling
ripped about the hotel rooms but imagine if we paid for the budget
lingerie as well! RE-ELECTION not just resignation. Bring the noise pronto please people!

DavidKNZ

Follow the money… or in this case, the motivation…
[1] Cameron Slater has copious hatred for socialists in general and Len Brown in particular, and has no hesitation in pinging Brown for an extra marital affair, when as a matter of public record, he has done the same
[2] Bevan Chuang would seem to be making a determined attempt at maximal vengance. Perhaps the reflected fame and glory she anticipated with this dalliance did not eventuate. Dragon lady indeed
[3] Steven Cooks reporting track record is a matter of public record and makes it difficult for him to claim moral righteousness..
[4] Len Brown is just plain foolish

Let He/She who is without sin cast the first stone :-)

Richard

Clears the way for Palino. Thought Brown’s ego was too big.

metalnwood

Poor Palino sitting at the Mayors desk the first time. Shit Len, other people just leave chewing gum under the desk!

Rachel

Christ! Even I had to laugh at that one – you get the prize!

metalnwood

His wife didnt believe any of it.

Then she read this.

‘It was over in a matter of minutes.’

It’s like a birthmark no one else should know you have.

niggly

Hadn’t caught up with the blogs today so the first thing I heard about it was on RNZ news at 5pm and I thought …. well, people have affairs for reasons, so who am I to judge Len Brown without knowing the circumstances etc?

But then I read the Stephen Cook article here and I thought …., WTF, this is appalling, Len Brown is using this woman for his own self gratification and he has some serious sexual issues and needs to get it sorted.

In fact I wonder whether him forcing himself could be viewed as rape ….

I’m sure feminists would see it as such due to the power imbalance ….

Lesley Young

Wow, I’m not a Len fan, but I do think he has been ensnared. Poor bugger. The woman is in the ‘Wendi Deng’ – don’t you think? These women come fom a different world, don’t they?

dyannt

Good lord. If he is dumb enough and weak enough to be ensnared, what the hell is he doing supposedly leading our largest city. As a ex-Auckland Nelsonian, I can only shake my head in disbelief.

She’s a fugly asian who complains that the presents aren’t expensive enough. Maybe she should have asked for the money instead & really put a name on it. A prostitute by any other name ……

disqus_vBCOKTdKft

A man who cannot don a condom to protect his wife from potential sexually transmitted diseases lacks the integrity and good manners to be a mayor.

Rachel

Has anyone asked his wife if she got an STI from him? Bet she says no. So who did wee Bev really get it from then?

LesleyNZ

Well – well…..well. No wonder the Chow Brothers got into AKLD so easily! I do feel for his wife and daughters. How awful for them. Their father! And Mrs Brown was looking rather nice on election night – how could he do this to them? How can he ever look his councillors in the eyes again? How can he ever look at the public eye ever again? Mayor Len Brown must resign. It wasn’t in his private life – it was in his public life.
There is of course one Labour politician(or two or three?…) who acted in a similar manner but media conveniently ignored their behaviour.
The TRUTH always comes out in the end. As my mum used to say – “Be sure your sins will find you out”. Of course infidelity is no big deal to many these days.

Jonathan Pull

Dunne survived it.

4077th

The difference is Dunne did not get past 1st base…loser!

Jonathan Pull

Im not suggesting that Brown should survive this so why you decided to use a childish little insult is beyond me. Perhaps try acting your age.

Where are her morals? She is just as culpable as Brown. She could have stopped it but proceeded knowing full well what damage she would do to his wife and kids. No excuse for Brown either but she can’t act like he was taking advantage of her and try and spin this into some poor victim story.Take responsiblity for your actions.

And the talk of being a “dud root” is just sour grapes. They clearly hooked up many times and she didn’t mind it then but only after things have broken off she complains…..

No sympathy for her.

Brown better retire as well, this is a disgrace.

Mal Ponzi

Hey the women involved, Is she the one who wanted a sperm doner 2 years back so she could have a baby in the year of the dragon?

Kangaroo

Yes.

Mal Ponzi

maybe that was her motive, An heir apparent?

Kangaroo

Think her motive was to try and get elected by using Len’s connections within politics. She failed to get elected. Broke the story. She is not innocent in all of this. Far from it.

Mal Ponzi

Sounds Like an act of revenge as she was C&R?

Kangaroo

Definitely sour grapes.

Kangaroo

Definitely sour grapes.

Mal Ponzi

Sounds Like an act of revenge as she was C&R?

pukakidon

Who cares about her motive. This prick is a lying cheating bastard who has treated his family and the rest of the Auckland rate payers like shit. The dirty scum bag blowing his load all over some young slapper at every chance. Just shows what a self centered self absorbed shit he is. What a complete tosser. He has used this slapper as an unpaid prostitute.

tarkwin

Makes you wonder what else he lied about. The media seem incapable of asking this question. If you really want to feel sick try reading Rudmans column in the Horrid – it says it all.

Lucy

It takes two to tango but aging white male out thought by a young woman without morals who could have sex without feeling. So by her own description, she behaved like a prostitute.

Kangaroo

Spot on Lucy.

peterwiseman

without the pay though:).

FuriousG

Bevan Chuang was the councillor who decried the number of massage parlours and houses in the Epsom area. How Interesting!

Karen

Sounds like this woman was just opening her legs to get ahead in her career. Now she’s kicking herself because it hasn’t worked and feels cheap and dirty. What did she expect as a mistress!

Craig Macdonald

Still a better love story than Twilight.

Black Cat

True that!

http://kiwiriverman.blogspot.com peterpetterson

Stop being a wanker Cam.

The Tank

“Other advice Mr Brown might be receiving was to admit to any other affairs or problems, said Ms Pead”
As founder (head) of Otara Flee Markets, the only one in AKL those days,vendors allocation of prime spaces in the small market… …rings many a bell…..some have good ones some bad…….why???.

shame your dad couldnt get Palino and his ex massage therapist elected call in Bevan for afull service.

Monito

Oh this is disgusting, dropping his trousers at his desk to fondle himself is just too much – he was clearly set up by this woman and he really should know better! I doubt that the staff around him did NOT know about this how can they have any respect left!

Welcome to the world of the scorned Asian woman – she who wanted to gain power and prestige – but instead found herself looking like a cheap, more bedeviled Asian version of Monica Lewinsky….
Maybe I am naive, but I am finding it really hard to see what this self-styled “Lewinsky” (she kept evidence = texts etc, maybe even a semen-soaked blouse…who knows?) could possibly gain from coming out with the graphic details of this smelly affair (e.g. Len ejaculating on her and masturbating in his bathroom each morning before heading off to council meetings etc) – she will destroy not only Auckland’s idiotic mayor Len Brown but also herself in the process. So I ask you, anyone, can there be any rational reason why she could possibly being doing this? It seems that the only likely result for her will be a complete blackening her already weird and wacky private and public image and the death of any political aspirations that she might have had now and for the rest of her life. No matter where she goes, this will always follow her…. unless she legally changes her name, forgoing her work history, experiences, and the public image she obviously spent more than a decade meticulously cultivating – check-out her bio on Linked). I mean, could anyone now knowingly respect, work with, trust, or even attempt to be true friends with this poor messed-up unpredictable creature? an educated Asian woman who willingly engaged in a 2-year sexual affair with a married man who 3 children (whom she didn’t find at all attractive at all but was drunkened by his power), and who is almost at retirement age… On top of being being the infamous weird Asian crazy-woman who appealed to the NZ media to help her find strangers nationwide to impregnate her with a “dragon baby” in 2012. I mean, Jesus! the mind boggles in trying to understand how Len (an obvious lunatic) could firstly find such a muppet, and then secondly, how he could possibly believe that everything would be ‘fine and dandy’ after banging her, exploiting her like some sort of geisha whore (which she clearly styles herself to be – look at her websites photos / sexualized Japanese costumes etc) and then attempting to empty her into the garbage when the risks seemed too great for him to manage. This truly is a very strange episode in NZ’s political history, and even though I despise “Cam Slater” as an egotistically tool with a horribly named website “Whale Oil”…(give me a break) I commend him on publishing this crazy woman’s testimony. Thankyou “Cam” for this weird piece of kiwi drama.
Sincerely, Paul in Chch city.

Fatty

Welllll, it you behave like a prostitude then don’t b surprised to be treated as such. Auckland council should fire them both.

Black Cat

How exciting for repressed people, who live vicariously through others!. Lets be honest people everyone is having affairs whether it is physically or in their minds. The moral outrage in 2013 is actually laughable. Do Len’s actions make him any less able to lead Auckland, that is the incorrect question that is being posed!. To be frank this question is only applicable for people who think the sum total of Len is an appendage on his body.

longjohn

You people who hang to the left make me laugh….should open the way for JK (Example) to follow suit with no public outpouring of distaste

Black Cat

If my memory serves me correctly, JK was having an affair with the worlds most beautiful woman of the time. What is the learning here….. if your going to do it…. don’t do it by halves lol.

Stan

For gods sake does nobody get it? Like all affairs, its ALL the wifes fault. It would have only required 2 minutes (literally) of her time each day to prevent this OTT media attention. Its not rocket science folks.
If you were here right now Len, id give you a high five. Chin up buddy.

Black Cat

Hey Stan I don’t agree that its always the wife’s fault but you have a point! The unfortunate truth is in western society we trade in youth and beauty and if there is a woman that doesn’t agree I would say cancel your subscription to Women’s Day because the subliminal messaging isn’t working.

Black Cat

It didn’t take lone for the State Services Commissions Codes of Conduct to enter the conversation; applicable to all Government Departments is related to your employment not your personal life. If you support this tenor you are basically agreeing to the fact that employers can involve themselves in your private affairs. Lets hope you don’t have anything to hide!. :)

longjohn

No! It is unacceptable to have phone sex and masterbate in the office on the bosses time.!

Black Cat

What but its ok to do it in your own time lol.

longjohn

Of course its ok in your own time. Welcome to WhaleOil. I am sure you will get many hours of enjoyment out of this blog. We may even indoctrinate you into the centre or more. Enjoy.

Black Cat

Delighted :). I am already the centre of a universe….my own.

Kizzy MCD

she has come forward with this story because she is a woman scorned…he didn’t reply to her texts so the next best thing to do is to “out” him. She wasn’t an innocent party in this, she didn’t have to do anything with him but SHE did!. She has helped destroy a family…he is not innocent at all but neither is she so all this “poor me” bullshit doesn’t sit well with me. She should be as ashamed as he should. She is calculating to say the least and bitter because she didn’t get anything from the deal

Black Cat

Yawn….the old woman scorned senario how droll!.

Monique Angel

She is awesome. Len Brown is the one that destroyed the family. Huang just gave out the rooting details when it suited her. And fair cop seeing as she copped an STD.
Do you think that women should just be used and thrown away by men without recourse? That’s what I’m getting from your little bleat.

Rachel

Problem is – she wasn’t sure who she got the STD from! She only ‘suspects’ it was from him – she just told all of NZ she’s a dirty little slapper thanks to this blog. In reality, she just got used by the political players, and the full extent of what they’ve coerced her to do won’t be known to her – yet. She won’t be in hiding because she’s afraid of Len Brown. She’s more likely to be ashamed at what’s come out via Cameron Slater. If anyone is the dirty pig in this little sty – it’s him. He released it, and he’s been around long enough to know full well what he was doing and what was going to happen. She’ll be lucky if she gets another job, let alone a career. And marriage? Not unless he doesn’t follow the news. He used her, and he will throw her away once he’s finished with her. And they say Len Brown was bad? At least Len didn’t publicly humiliate the woman and ruin her life like Cam has.

Kudos on a significant exposè. Not a huge surprise that this man has been revealed for being not only a inadequate mayor but an A grade sleaze bag. Enjoy the fall Len the leech.

Pesa

hahaha Len Brown is the man. She just got mad that she did not get any loving while he was too busy on the campaign trail for re-election. She didnt find him attractive but yet still had sex with him. Who is playing who here.

Gaz

“I was being treated like a prostitute, except for one thing – I wasn’t getting paid,This was unusual as I was charging alot of other guys.

Gaz

back to the real issue John Banks knew about those “donations” he was on the cabbage boat with a big envelope.

Gaz

no he dosent have to resign Kiwis hate narks and probably the fact that she is some sort of chinese nationalist wont exactly help either lol.

Facebook User

Len Brown is a pig of a man! I first meet him in 2011 at a dinner function I attended while being accompanied by a very attractive female friend, as the evening wore on Mr. Brown became, in my opinion, progressively more intoxicated.

Toward the end of the evening Mr. Brown approached my companion and preceded to ask her, “Do you know who I am?”, this was followed by a variety of rather crude complements and an offer of a “discreet” lunch! He also seemed to see nothing wrong with clasping my companion’s arm in an unwelcome fashion. We left the function shortly afterward.

Interesting to note that Mr. Brown’s wife was sitting at the next table and could not have missed this exchange, she also seemed to have been drinking heavily.

I think the really bad thing with Mr. Brown’s and Ms. Chuang’s affair is that much of it seems to have taken place in council time and in publicly owned property, if any other council employee had done this they would have been sacked or stood down pending an employment review.

How on earth can we trust a man who behaves in such a disgraceful manner, he show resign now!

Facebook User

Len Brown is a pig of a man! I first meet him in 2011 at a dinner function I attended while being accompanied by a very attractive female friend, as the evening wore on Mr. Brown became, in my opinion, progressively more intoxicated.

Toward the end of the evening Mr. Brown approached my companion and preceded to ask her, “Do you know who I am?”, this was followed by a variety of rather crude complements and an offer of a “discreet” lunch! He also seemed to see nothing wrong with clasping my companion’s arm in an unwelcome fashion. We left the function shortly afterward.

Interesting to note that Mr. Brown’s wife was sitting at the next table and could not have missed this exchange, she also seemed to me to have been drinking heavily.

I think the really bad thing with Mr. Brown’s and Ms. Chuang’s affair is that much of it seems to have taken place in council time and in publicly owned property, if any other council employee had done this they would have been sacked or stood down pending an employment review.

How on earth can we trust a man who behaves in such a disgraceful and gross manner, he show resign now, voluntarily or otherwise!

Nic

Utter trash and to her? Why go into so much detail? Doesn’t say much about her morals or integrity either does it. OK, so you had a fling with the Mayor – you named and shamed but that obvioulsy wasn’t enough – total trash.

Dude mate

Mate, at this age if Lenny can get this chick, Good on him.
Does he have other affairs going with his position.
I wonder what matters are going on in Mayor’s office.
Everyone sharing a peice of the pie.

john m

To think I voted for a wanker

Jayar

If the security guard realises what an explosive story he has, it only needs him to sell it to one of the magazines.

EllenO

Dear Diary – would it be fair to call Brown a wanker?

Melissa

Literally?!

Black Cat

Summary for the day moral outrage verses much respect to an older man that can pull (even if he uses his office). This is the little pearl I gleaned from a morally outraged Feacebook User – the Mayoress drinks heavily whilst on public duty!.

longjohn

Or in other words..when the Mayor pulls..a little pearl gleams around Bevans neck while the mayoress drinks to forget.

J9

Why would she shag a married man 25yrs her senior ..??
I think she is a dirty Asian slut , trying to benefit for herself !
I’d said she is full of lies and has wormed her way into his bed .
I hope his marriage survives , dum buggar!
This has nothing to do with his professional life .
Never trust a dirty Asian woman , she is a scumbag slut !

Bruno 32

settle down len

Melissa

Has everything to do with his Professional Life!! When your campaign is based around decency, honesty yada, yada – How can you trust a man whose own family can’t trust!!

John Warren

My wife of 13 years is Asian, and I find your comment offensive and insulting.

mark

Hey I have been married to a HKG girl 12 years my junior for the last 10 years.
Its hard to go thru a week without at least 4 x nites of crazy stuff
They are unreal performers.
Dont blame Len
Mark

Melissa

Do you have a big supply of shoelaces??

Rachel

Scripted much?

Rachel

Yep, was a ‘copy and paste’ job… with a little tweak at the end before hitting the post button. ROFLMAO!

Facebook User

My apology for the double post, I had meant to tweak the content
a little and fix a couple of errors and even so, I missed a couple of mistakes :-/)

Actually this episode won’t help Chuang’s career much as who wants to have anything to do with someone that you can’t trust to keep secrets, and yes, she is just a culpable as Mr. Brown.

Rachel

I don’t commend Cam Slater – I think he’s a revolting piece of work for doing this to her. But I agree that he’s “egotistically tool with a horribly named website”, and I think you’ve captured well the damage he’s done to her life. He may have had her consent to do it – but he’s screwed her far more and way harder than Len Brown ever did.

Paul

Strangely you actually sound like – Ms Chuang the Dragonlady – I hope things come right for you Bevan, but it’s obviously a lost cause, you might as well move to Holland and become a clog-saleswoman because you ain’t gonna get many more chances here. Also, be a good idea to stop going on nationwide TV asking for semen – it shames your honourable Asian heritage, your family, and most of the people around you – as well a yourself…
PS: Anyway, you look good in the sexy underpants photo.
take care Dragonlady “Rachel”
regards Paul

Hahaha – Beaureaucratic Hypocrisy at its best…Lion Brown…or perhaps she thought he said “lie down”… Either way they aint no Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky – puhlease.. He should go along with his stoopied billion dollar train loop idea – if ya miss the normal train or bus you can walk and so should he – she should go make wine with her sour grapes!!

Melissa

Remember ya don’t have to have any business acumen and clearly common sense isn’t a prerequisite either to be Mayor – just $50k and the peoples vote….

Daniel Schwass

I’m confused… didn’t this greasy dirtybag Cameron Slater cheat on his wife? But I guess this is different because he’s just a shitty snide keyboard warrior and Len Brown was elected to run the largest city in New Zealand?

Also spare a thought for the career and life of Bevan Chuang which has been ruined because Cameron Slater likes to play ‘journalist’ and harrased her into giving up her story. Oh but he and the readers/commenters on this site don’t care about her because…? I guess she’s not a person or something.

This whole website is hypocrital bullshit and frankly disgusts me. I hope you all enjoy wallowing in shit with the pig who writes these disgusting articles and ruins peoples lives for traffic numbers.

This_comment_was_deleted

It’s base, venal, hypocritical and plays to the dark side of peoples souls.

Which is why all here love it so.

It’s the crack cocaine of NZ RW politics.

Lesley Young

I think you need to aim your thoughts towards the nz herald now if you’d like to read today’s articles on this saga – details as supplied by Ms Chuang. You’re really just shooting the messenger.
With the amount of information being given out by this naive and ignorant woman I don’t think the council’s going to need to do any of it’s own investigations. I’m referring to the info she’s spewed forth today about the freebies hotel managers were giving Len.

Black Cat

Today we have a statement from the Children (not the wife). No, it is not good involving innocent parties whether they agreed or were coerced, but harden up people, this is politics!. The children support their father in his role, but likely not his behaviour. Think about this being Mayor maybe his livelihood, Mrs Brown is the Mayoress, who likes to drink; who knows what else she does professionally I the day but we might conclude there is at least one role she doesn’t perform with regularity or flare (maybe).

chris

If I had sex in my office, on work time, with a younger employee I would be sacked immediately. Why is Len still there ? Now it comes out he signed a job affidavit to get her a job in the council which she got when he was having sex with her. Again, I ask why is Len still there,? He abused his power, his mayoral office, his family and his wife, He lied and misled voters. He only thought of his own sexual self gratification needs without thinking about the consequences. Brown displayed clear immature, ego driven, behaviours. Brown REALLY has to go

This_comment_was_deleted

Unfortunately for the authors, they’ve taken timeout from sweating over the salacious details to cast aspersions upon the credibility of their own source.

Boys, when the story backfires you need to cut and run, as, just as in shadow theater, Black Ops crew are never meant to be part of the story.

Stuart Greif

Somehow I just knew Brown was a sleaze. Sometimes the system works.

Flying Kiwi Innovation

Ultimately a man in Brown’s position must be judged on one core attribute: his own powers of judgment. Morally suspect behaviour unfortunately takes lower priority.

It certainly appears however that Wewege should be pilloried for his hyena-like tactics via text messages. Clearly not the quality of future Nat that NZ would want to see emerging through the ranks. Any comment, Mr. Slater?

Pluto 86

There is more to come I promise!!

http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/ Petal

Feel free to share your ideas with us via the confidential tipline (see top menu)

Pluto 86

Len brown thinks he has got away with thing..he has not ask the other woman he has been with he should fess up before it comes out

Pluto 86

I am in the know I cant tell you but Len Brown has manynmany more secrets

Pluto 86

I will I dont care about being confidential

Alman

Sorry Cam i just got hit by news that you had also had an affair in 2012…… Not keeping up with the news I had been praising what a good job you’d done bringing out all the details of Len’s affair. Now i have had to step back a bit since it has some hypocrisy attached to it – tough one

Lesley Young

Wow, absolutely no news in the Dompost todaabout the Len Brown saga despite it being the biggest scandal in NZ local body history. (apart from a little write up from Tracey Watkins saying how every politician should be running scared). I didn’t know the Labour party had so much money to throw at controlling the newspapers. I guess the good thing to come of it is the fact that I’ve found whaleoil, which wasn’t really on my radar before this. Fantastic community here Cameron, well done.

Lesley Young

At least on whaleoil all comments are posted and not edited out as the papers like to do if they don’t like someone else’s point of view. Also the fact that the papers only selectively allow comments is in itself biased.

Deb Duis

I love the victim perspective she offers.. what she did she think she was, other than a ‘booty call’. And promptly flicked over to the campaign organiser in the opposing team, for some extras :P Nice one Bevan :P

Well Len’s a sociopath and Bevan’s a little home-wrecker trying to climb to the top. I just hope the wife gets a good lawyer who knows about section 17 of the Relationship Property Act/spousal support/good child maintenance plus a counselor who understands sociopathic personality disorders. Run Mrs Brown-Run!!!

Facebook User

You do have to wonder why Mrs. Brown is hanging in there? Does it simply come down to the money that Mr. Brown earns as mayor to support her and is she tolerant of his transgressions just so long as he supports her and his daughters, something is seriously wrong in their relationship I suspect.

The bottom line is that anyone that masturbates at his desk and has an extramarital affair while in office should go.

Mr. Brown’s behavior is sickening and has no place in New Zealand local body politics, or anywhere else for that matter.